Nigel frequently complained that the
database would not obey his orders and keep the photos in the right frame or
cell.

So, the problem is not new to you.

Hopefully, you will figure it out.

Keep well.

Don

------------------------------------------------------------.

kmailto:empowerwithart@gmail.com

Jan 9 at 1:53 PM

Dear Attila,

I am so sorry about the position of your
photo not coinciding next to your name in our MSB Database. Actually, things
went crazy and most of the photos moved to different locations. I would need to
rectify that. I will have to come up with a method so the photos stay
permanently instead of shifting every time the database is updated. I tried
several times and it did work to stay.

Nigel did a lot of hard work the years to create
and maintain the database with thousands of names. And somehow, I messed up. I
just wish I had someone I could work with to correct the situation. It is a
tremendous amount of work involved. Although, I had asked for support through
our MSB Facebook Group page, I did not get any volunteers. So, I will continue
to pray for some guidance to get the database in proper order like Nigel did.

Look at our pride and joy, the
steelband. Take a simple thing like setting up on the Savannah
stage. Steelbands still cannot set up easily. Back and fro, cuss
and go, nobody knows where each set of pan is supposed to be? How difficult
is it to draw a diagram before going on stage, A; B; C; D etc. A goes here; B
set up next to A, and so on. Even if you drunk, where is the stage
manager? Who is in charge? Sit down and do the work. Spend
some time reflecting. Come up with a plan.

If you cannot solve minor problems like
that, what hope is there for pan? How long are we going to depend on
talent? Talk for so. Carnival post mortems. Opportunity for
everyone to gallery and try to impress everyone else. Who does the hard
work, before the meeting? After the meeting? How many meetings
there are in Trinidad where nobody takes the minutes so a week later no one
knows what was decided. Wasting people’s time.

Look at sport. Football.
Cricket. Athletics. Any sport you want. Total chaos.
Who’s in charge? Who is doing the hard work? Sitting down.
Thinking. Coming up with a plan. So smart talking charlatans have
the opportunity to take over a sport and walk away with the rewards.

Standards in the media are dropping, says
the president of MATT, “The quality of media is in trouble”. Last
Friday night, one television commentator was heard to say that Steve Waugh now
had the most Test centuries. On the other channel, his competitor claimed
that Omari Banks was the best West Indian bowler with 3 for 204 runs.
Simple things. Both were wrong. Someone hadn’t done their homework.

Think of any profession. Law.
How often have you heard that the lawyer is not ready to proceed so the case is
postponed? Or there’s nobody to take notes. Or the
magistrates don’t know the law.

Fire burning hills. Endless talk on
the radio. People writing in to the newspapers. What’s being
done? The firemen can’t do anymore. More talk about planes from
Canada to out the fires.

Name any Ministry that is organized.
Name a single Minister who has a plan for his or her Ministry?

But everyone is making money and everyone
happy. Thank heaven for the oil and gas. That’s what the rest of
the Caribbean says about us. If it wasn’t for that we would be the
Labasse of the Caribbean. But a happy Labasse.

There is a dire need in the country for hard
working people. Someone to do an honest day’s work. How long
can the lack of action last? David Rudder is right. Old talk drains
the spirit.

David E. Bratt MD

------------------------------------------

EDITED by Ladislao Kertesz, kertesz11@yahoo.com,
if you would like to be in the circular’s mailing list or any old boy that you
would like to include.

Correction
on the photo of the Class of 1960: #21 is Daniel de Verteuil not Dennis.

Bye
for now,

Daniel
de Verteuil

-------------------------------------------------------------------.

Don Mitchell

18/12/2016

Thanks,
Elspeth,

And a
Happy Christmas to you and Richard too.

You
have galvanised me into rushing to complete our Christmas letter, and I hope to
get it out in a day or two once Maggie has finished her proof-reading :-)

Keep
well both of you.

Don

------------------------------------------------------------------.

O'Connor
Elspeth <pethrich@westnet.com.au>

17/12/2016

Yes,
our number is 61-08- 93645800 but I think when dialling from overseas you leave
out the 0 before the 8,

Regards.

Elspeth

----------------------------------------------------------.

Ladislao
Kertesz <kertesz11@gmail.com>

17/12/2016

Dear
Elspeth,

Do you
have a telephone number??

-------------------------------------------------------------------.

O'Connor
Elspeth <pethrich@westnet.com.au>

13/12/2016

Many
thanks for all your emails and news during the year.

I try
to get Richard to write something for the Mount newsletter with no luck.

He has
very fond memories of Mount and particularly the Scouts and made some great
friends while there.

It is
good that you all keep doing what you do as we also have an Old Girls
Association from my old school, The Assumption Convent, in Ramsgate, Kent but
we are all getting to the entrance of the Pearly Gates soon!

Richard
keeps well as you can see in the newsletter but has the occasional bout of
sciatica.

He
comes to exercises (with a physiotherapist) every Monday and is the only man
there now as he is with his Lifeball to which he keeps going.

He
also walks half an hour every day which keeps him fit.

He
would love to give up driving, and I do most of it now, but I encourage him to
do what he can for as long as possible.

His
joy is his grand children and building jig-saws but now has to get up every
half hour to avoid the sciatica.

One
keeps the mind fit the other the body!

Unfortunately,
Leary has now been diagnosed with dementia but he is still able to drive to his
block of land, about 12 kms away as he knows the route well and he is as happy
as anything there, so hope that does not come to an end too soon, but it will I
think.

Gillian
is having difficulty adjusting to having to make so many decisions but the
children have rallied around and are a great support.

But,
if you want to do that, the best help would be to send emails to those in
Venezuela, as my circulars to the Venezuelans about your circulars are nearly
all bouncing.

I’ll
complete the list of email addresses and send you a note later.

Keep
well.

Don

PS:
Solstice day was great. It is my job to cook the turkey on Sunday
coming. All I know how to cook is barbecued steak. So, we are
offering our guests a 7-lb tenderloin that I shall marinade in red wine and
rosemary for 24 hours, and which I shall name “turkey” :-)

My worry
from the start was that there would be not enough publicity for the EVENT.

I had
sent Miguel Gonzalez, the Circulars since I received his email address in
March.

First
I thought it was a hoax, and after I sent out Circular No.87 I got a reply, too
late to make a decent publicity to the Circulars readers.

With
No. 91 I did get a lot of replies.

I
always thought that there must have been interaction with the priests of the
Mount, but no answer from there, so this was my complaint.

This
is the first email from MSB, after 93 Circulars, so you might gauge my worry.

Well,
the important part is that the EVENT was successful and there is a hope for 2nd
EVENT. God Willing.

Please
ask Fr, Cuthbert for Fr.Francis and Fr. Paul´s address at their retirement home
in Holland.

Also I
ask you to have the circular passed to Fr. Benedict, Fr, Augustine, Fr,
Cuthbert and all the others that have made these Circulars possible, thanks to
have been part of MSB and the Abbey School.

Please
inform me if you need old Circulars, and send me the number of the one that was
deleted, so that it can be replaced.

Can
you send me the name of the oldboys that you did recognize at the EVENT.